A Penny For Your Thoughts
Carried in a pocket,
intrinsic value none,
my better self sees not the point,
my superstitious self absconds,
hijacking reason and just in case holds on,
a dirty old brass penny,
minted around World War One.
It rattles with my other coins,
rubs shoulders with the youth,
a Grandpa coin so oxidized,
its black as black from use,
and how many things it must have bought
in all its hundred years,
the stories and the tragedies that brings us all to tears.
I look at it for hours,
wondering who held it in the past,
a postman, a policeman, a soldier it did last,
now lost on any battlefield,
not fallen down a drain,
this simply blackened penny,
has survived many lives and then.
It sits inside my pocket,
a good luck charm of sorts,
and it reminds me how fleeting life can be,
our stories vast and tragic be
befits our human kind,
while pennies live much longer,
at least this one of mine.
Tony DeLorger © 2017
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The history behind a coin an interesting analogy my friend. To think as you pen, where it may have traveled in someone else’s purse, pocket, vest or hand. What cash box it entered and removed for exchange of goods. Who’s hand did it peacefully palm, or was it in times of stress or distress? A piece of history in your pocket Tony, let it sit and maybe be found again, long after your gone. An Alien maybe holding it in their grip wondering the same that you do, knowing not it mingled in a pocket of a Poet and others from the 20th and 21st century on earth. Well penned, I enjoyed this work my poet.
A little different, but also an interesting take on a simple object. Glad you enjoyed it my friend.
Wonderful thoughts to ponder on. One simple little object has so much history, so many stories behind it. Lovely and thought provoking verse, Tony.
Glad you appreciated the thoughts Phyllis. cheers!
Ah, Tony the humble penny and the tale sit could tell if given voice. I collect coins and possibly have at 100 pennies, half-pennies, farthings in my collection in various stages of condition. The history associated with these coins would be wonderful to unlock. I enjoyed this piece. Well done.
Thanks John, yes it is something to ponder, each coin a story, a book in waiting. Cheers!